CR2 is Canon's in-camera RAW
CR2 is the raw sensor data a Canon camera writes at the moment of capture. It's produced by the camera's own hardware and firmware — software can read it, but nothing can manufacture a genuine CR2 from a finished RW2.
Looking to convert RW2 to CR2? Here's the honest answer — and what works instead.
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RW2 is Panasonic’s raw photo format used by Lumix cameras.
RW2 opens in Lightroom, Photoshop and Panasonic software.
CR2 is Canon’s older raw photo format, holding unprocessed sensor data from EOS cameras for maximum editing flexibility.
CR2 opens in Canon DPP, Lightroom, Photoshop and most raw editors.
No. CR2 stores the raw signal a Canon sensor recorded at capture. A RW2 is a finished image with that data already baked in and discarded — there's nothing for a converter to reconstruct.
RAW formats like CR2 give maximum editing latitude — but only when they come straight from the camera. Converting a RW2 to CR2 would just wrap a finished image in a RAW container, with none of the benefits.
DNG is an open RAW container. You can convert a camera's own RAW (including CR2) into DNG, but you still can't turn a regular RW2 into CR2 or any real RAW.
RW2 converts cleanly to PNG, JPG, TIFF and WEBP — free, no sign-up, no watermark.